ORELIA, RODERICK'S CHARGER 93 



Lady Guibourg, but Roland was slain at Ronces- 

 valles in the Pyrenees during the return march 

 from Saragossa, while in command of the rear- 

 guard, being caught " together with the flower of 

 the French chivalry" in an ambuscade and 

 massacred to a man. Aude is said to have died 

 of grief upon hearing the news. 



Roland's horse, Veillantiff, must have been an 

 incomparable charger and more intelligent than 

 even his master, for it is related that whenever 

 Roland was hard pressed Veillantiff obtained 

 knowledge of the fact in some mysterious way 

 and at once carried Roland out of danger so far 

 as he was able. 



Equally intelligent in this respect was the 

 charger named Orelia, owned by Roderick, the 

 last of the Goths. According to Southey this 

 horse too was renowned for its shape and speed. 

 Indeed Southey based the story of his famous 

 epic upon the historical record of the defeat of 

 Roderick in 711 a.d., at the battle of Guadalete, 

 near Xeres de la Frontera. Roderick, the 

 thirty - fourth and last of the old Visigothic 

 kings, himself attributed his victories in a great 

 measure to the courage of his horses, and 

 apparently he was proud of all his horses 

 for we read that he " bitterly bemoaned the 

 death of any one of them." Another remark- 

 able and famous steed was Trebizond, the 

 grey charger of Admiral Guarinos, one of 



